Page 18 of The Guardian

She stood with tears in her eyes as she gave me a tremulous smile. She looked so happy and yet so sad that I didn’t know what to do or say. Turning, I followed Alex into his room.

The teen boy had halted just inside the doorway.

Looking over his shoulder at the room itself, I saw why.

The room was entirely different from Hope’s. All in deep blue and black trim. It had a large Captain’s bed, a top of the line PC and gaming system as well. A large TV and deep blue carpeting. All definitely for a young male and all brand new. He had a small sofa with end tables across from the TV. There were some posters of skateboarders and BMX bikes. Along with race cars. He, like Hope, had a small refrigerator, a microwave and kitchen counter with barstools.

Alex simply moved through it all in like a quiet reverence. He finally turned and looked up at me.

I paused as I did not see the happiness on his face that Hope had shown. “You do not like it?” I asked in some surprise.

He nodded. “Si, of course I do.”

“Then why do you look…” I didn’t want to say unhappy, but he looked very serious.

“I do not trust it,” he quietly replied.

I stepped closer and asked him, “Why?”

“Maya had taught us to read and write. Then she would buy us books. The old tías never knew it as we kept anything she got us hidden. They would have destroyed them. She bought us things like clothes too, and they said they must be paying her too much. They were hardly paying her anything.” He seethed as anger showed on his face. “But in one of those books, I read a story. A story about two kids who were adopted and taken to a mansion. They were given riches beyond their dreams. They believed it all and then the mother turned into a witch and ate them!”

I tucked my head back at his absolute horror. I did pause for a minute before I formed the answer I needed to give him. “I get it, Alex. In this life if things seem too good to be true then they probably are.”

He looked up at me. “I-it feels like we are being bought and I want to know why.”

I stared at this young man realizing that he was wiser than his years and perhaps smarter than even I was at this same age. Then again, he also had been shown the harshest most beleaguered life possible ever since he was a baby. On one hand, I admired his caution. On the other, I felt sadness at his jaded attitude at only fourteen years old.

“I will protect my sister,” he stated as he clenched his hands into fists. “How do we know that this Berto is not evil? That he is faking being a man of good?”

I bit my lip. The man in question had been a very bad guy at one time. Known as Houdini Mancini – he literally made people who challenged or crossed him – disappear, never to be seen again. Not the kind who would hurt a child but he was a real gangster. From what Selena and Rain had found, he had gone legit in the last two years. No drug running and no gun running as far as they could tell. His cousin Stephano had also done the same. This had been said to be the son’s influence for the families to go legit. I did know that if Rain had discovered this then it was most likely correct. The man was a master at digging up the truth.

I looked at Alex and made my attempt at advice, “I cannot blame you for wanting to protect your sister. I think it is very grown up to do that. I also can understand your hesitation. It is only smart to be careful in this world. Especially if you have another person to look out for.”

“So, what should I do?” he asked me.

“First of all, your Uncle Carlos knows of Alberto Mancini. He knows all about him. Rain and Selena had reported to me that yes, he used to be a gangster of sorts.”

“Like you said in the hallway?” Alex nodded.

I paused and realized I may have inadvertently caused this problem for this young teen by saying that earlier. “Yes, he was. However, he has changed. He has legal businesses and is known as a good man now. Rain found this out and I trust what he finds.” I mentally scoffed as I realized I was giving that blowhard Russian lots of credit that I would never admit to his face. “But also, Carlos would have never rescued you both from those bad women then turn and give you to a bad woman.”

Alex kept looking around and shaking his head.

“Take it slow, Alex,” I advised. “It is a huge change. You barely had what you needed and you lived in a house that looked like it was going to fall down. So this is all natural. You feel uneasy about all of this sudden wealth, thinking it is too good to be true. This is very wise of you to feel that way.”

“So, what do I do?” he asked me.

I paused again. What the hell did I know about kids? And who was I to give all this advice? If I told him the wrong thing… I let out a sigh and replied, “Look, just take it all in as good as you can. Watch everyone closely. Give it a little time. But I do believe Gabreila. That woman loves you. She has waited for years to be reunited with you. I do know that what she has said about it is absolutely the truth.” I paused as I remembered the recording she made when she put out a reward for the return of her children. It had been one of the saddest things I had ever heard. I wish young Alex could hear it, but it would also open a virtual can of worms as well. Like the description of what happened to their father and who had murdered him.

The poor kid did not need to know that his grandfather was practically the devil himself.

Chapter Six: The Maya Angel

Maya

I stood by the doorway and heard some of what Henry told Alex.

I sort of knew that Alex had his doubts about all of this. After all, I’d known this boy for three years now. He had done one thing consistently since he was four and that thing was to protect the only real family he had in the world. His sister, Hope. Even when I came along, he was skeptical of me for a few months until he realized I only wanted to help them cope. Help them to survive those two violent harpies.